


Hospital

by Galahard



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: A bit of worrying over ages, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 17:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3496886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galahard/pseuds/Galahard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anon prompt x2! One for fluff of Eggsy visiting Harry in the hospital, and another for Harry worrying over their age difference.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hospital

Even before he opened his eyes Harry could hear the familiar whirs and beeps that signaled he was in medical. It took him a moment to place where he might be, how he might have come to be there, but the entire time he kept his eyes shut. Not scrunching them down, merely closed. One could never quite be certain that the ones providing medical care were allies after all, and if a hostile force was keeping him alive he wanted as much of an edge as possible.

Right. Kentucky. The church.

Memories were starting to trickle in. Flashes of violence. Muffled noise. People dying under his hands.

No one had come close to his level of training so at first it confused him. Why had he been fighting people of all ages with no training? Why had they tried to attack him?

Then he remembered Valentine. SIM cards. Signals. The removal of inhibitors in his brain.

The shot.

So really he could be anywhere. Not that he should be.

He should be dead.

He opened his eyes only when he was ready. His vision was a bit spotty in his right eye but cleared after a blink. A flash of relief shone on his face as he recognized a tiny stain on one of the ceiling tiles and he reached for the button to let them know he was awake. 

It was another minute before he realized that the vision had never cleared where his left eye should be.

\---------

He had been expecting a long and boring recovery, full of trying to convince Merlin and his doctors that he was better than he was just so he could get out and do something. 

For the most part he was right. The eye and a stab to the shoulder shouldn't have been anything to keep him bedridden. Just slap a patch and a bandaid on and he could go about his business, but the action he had taken after the stab wound had further opened it, and it had gotten infected. There had been the initial debriefing and Merlin catching him up on what he’d missed, then they’d given him the news.

They were keeping him confined.

Apparently not one psych eval would be good enough, they wanted at least three, spread out over two weeks. They wanted him underground, not in the main house, and the medical wing was the easiest to contain someone potentially dangerous. No one would trust a potentially compromised agent upstairs, he could understand that, but the notion still chafed at him. Two weeks of sitting back on his arse then there were still pieces to be picked up, when the world was still shit.

Two bloody weeks.

The first psych eval came and went the day after he woke up, the psychologist replaced with a nurse bringing in a tray of a broth with enough tiny specks of vegetable that they dared to call it soup. There was tea at least, and the only other thing on the tray was a bit of cubed jelly for pudding. It wobbled unappetizing in it’s little bowl and he let out a sigh, sending the nurse away before working on feeding himself.

He’d made himself use his left hand enough, in case he was ever in a pinch, that while he had to eat slowly he managed it on his own. It took even longer than ordinarily would have as he kept hitting his spoon against the bowl, finding it more beneficial to just close his eyes than to try to actually see what he was doing. Even without those issues it was hard to force himself to eat, knowing that this was exactly what he had the day before and probably what they would be trying to feed him for another couple of days. If only it actually had flavor.

The door opened without a knock and he looked up, pleasantly surprised when it was Eggsy slipping in and grinning at him, swaggering his way over to the bed. “They said you was awake. Didn’t think they’d fucking let me in.”

The boy was dressed casually, polo shirt buttoned all the way up, a fairly warm jacket on and Harry latched onto the information. It very probably signified that there had been a cold snap. “I didn’t expect to be allowed visitors,” Harry admitted. He was here to basically be quarantined, and ordinarily they wouldn’t want someone else influencing him. Merlin was typically the exception, he knew most of the agents better than anyone else, and there had to be someone to debrief them initially.

Then he noticed that Eggsy seemed rather intent on not meeting his eye and he frowned slightly. “Do they know you’re here now?”

“Come on now bruv, you don’t think that I--” Eggsy looked up and caught his pointed stare and gave him a tentative smile. “Merlin thought I needed more stealth practice. Sneaking in here was fucking hard. I should get a medal or something.” 

“I have to disagree Eggsy. It could have been immensely dangerous for you to come in here. They’re keeping me here for a reason, and we’re not positive yet whether I might be harmful.

“That’s a load of shit. Ain’t no one else still having effects around the world except for them that’s trying to get away with murder. ”

Harry couldn’t help but agree with him, but he wouldn’t say so aloud. Wouldn’t do anything that might undermine Kingsman in Eggsy’s eyes because he knew that the boy still didn’t have a role. Knew from Merlin that a knighting was in his future but they weren’t quite sure whose pair of oxfords he was going to fill.

Eggys eyes drifted over before he could reply, landing on Harry’s tray, and the boy cringed. “Fuck that looks rank. That all they feeding you?”

“I’m afraid so.” The longer he looked at it, the less appealing it got, so he reached for his tea instead. “Whatever you think it tastes like it’s worse than that. Even the tea is shit.”

Eggsy wrinkled his nose, and then looked almost excited, patting at his jacket and opening it to reach into an inside pocket. In a moment he had fished out a partially eaten Cadbury Milk bar, a bit soft as he passed it over to Harry but the older agent still took it. “Sorry it ain’t much but maybe you can eat some at the end to get the taste out of your mouth?” 

He really did look troubled by the offering so Harry tried his best to give him a reassuring smile, “thank you Eggsy, it’s much appreciated.”

Eggsy just grinned at him for a moment before starting, glancing down at his watch. “Shit, they’ll be coming round to check on you pretty soon I think. I better get the fuck out of here before I get caught. I’ll be back tomorrow, yeah?”

“Keep yourself out of trouble,” Harry admonished, trying to keep the relief out of his voice. Something to break up the monotony of the day, something to look forward to. It was more than any half-melted candy bar could ever be.

Eggsy tossed Harry one last grin before peeking out the door and slipping out, and while Harry couldn’t be certain he could surmise that from the lack of noise he had gotten away safely.

\--------

He tried not to be too apprehensive as his lunch tray was brought around the next day. The morning had been filled with brain scans, eye charts, and the changing of bandages. It was at least slightly more exciting than some of the time’s he’d been bedridden, allowed to shuffle here and there, and if it were not for the painkillers making him nauseous when he stood he would probably be able to move about somewhat normally. There was no reason to think that Eggsy would be able to sneak in a second time. This part of the building was fairly secure, though he could see how someone moderate to unrestricted access might be able to pull it off.

When the door opened he could feel the corner’s of his mouth twitching upwards, and Eggsy came over without preamble, so brazen as to perch on the edge of the bed. “You’re going to be fucking impressed,” he declared before bringing his arm from behind his back, pulling out a package of HobNobs with a grin.

Harry looked at them for a moment before laughing, trying to cover his mouth with his hand. It was such a common treat, but it was perfect. Something that might even make his shit tea taste halfway acceptable. “Very impressed,” he promised reaching out for the package, slowing down a second too soon and having to extend his reach just a fraction longer to get grab the biscuits.

He was certain Eggsy had noticed, but the boy said nothing about it. “Nah, you ain’t supposed to be that impressed. This on the other hand?” He reached into his pocket and tossed a couple of puny little packets next to the bowls balanced on the tray. “Fucking salt and pepper. That’s the only thing that can help whatever shit they’re feeding you.”

Shaking his head slightly he opened the pack of biscuits, deciding to go straight for the only thing that was likely to be decent. “That’s where you may be wrong Eggsy. I’m not sure anything can help this shit. It certainly can’t make it any worse.” He dunked let the biscuit soak for a few seconds, resisting the urge to suck the tea out of it with Eggsy sitting right there, and tried not to groan as he took a bite.

“Thank you.”

“Ain’t nothing,” Eggsy said, ducking his head, and Harry hoped he was imagining the blush spreading across the back of his neck.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s been happening? I believe that Merlin has been kept quite busy these past couple of days.”

It was easy to relax back with his mug carefully tucked into his right hand, biscuit in his left, listening to Eggsy tell all about the aftermath they’d been dealing with the past couple of days, or at least the bits he was privy too. He found himself starting to nod off, barely aware when Eggsy’s warm hands plucked the mug from his hands and the boy slipped out the door.

\---------

After lunch the next day Eggsy didn’t return. Harry tried not to be disappointed, tried to tell himself it was only about the food everything was fine.

He pulled the biscuits out from where he had hidden them but today they didn’t seem to have any flavor.

\---------

It was in the evening time, Harry feeling rather worn out after his shower, that Eggsy appeared again. He set aside his book, grateful for the break for his eye, and watched the young man walk in, shrugging apologetically. “Sorry bruv, got sent out with Rox to take care of some shit.”

That was when Harry realized what was off, realized that Eggsy was walking a bit stiffly. Trying to conceal a limp. Worry flooded through him, logic telling him that Eggsy was on his feet so he must be fine, and he tried to hide that he had noticed anything. “Why don’t you have a seat and tell me about it?”

This time Eggsy wasn’t so concerned about the crew coming around to check on things. They’d already ensured that Harry was ready for bed as soon as he allowed himself to close his eyes and go to sleep, so they wouldn’t be back anytime soon. 

It wasn’t until Eggsy tried to stifle a yawn that Harry realized a fair amount of time must have passed. It had felt like no time at all, trading stories of old missions for the events of the past week and amusing anecdotes of Eggsy’s past, but it had not been his intention to completely monopolize the younger man’s time.

Rather than telling Eggsy to be on his way he let himself give in and yawn as well, giving Eggsy an apologetic look. 

“Fuck it’s late.” Eggsy got to his feet, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Oh hey, there any food you’re fucking craving? For tomorrow or some shit.”

Harry spoke the first thought that crossed his mind. “Lo mein.”

Eggsy looked almost confused by the answer, it apparently was not what he had expected, but he nodded. “Night Harry,” he muttered right before he moved to the door.

“Good night Eggsy."

\---------

Even though Eggsy had just been there the night before, had basically promised to come back, Harry was surprised when he slipped into the room.

What was more impressive was the bag he pulled out from under his coat. "Sorry, might be cold," he said, not actually sounding apologetic as he pulled out a take-out container.

Harry accepted it wordlessly, trying to hide how pleased he felt. "Brought you a fork, wasn't sure if you'd want to go for chopsticks with your left hand."

"That almost sounds like a challenge," Harry raised eyebrow and Eggsy just grinned.

"Shit you must be even more bored than I thought. I'd come back tonight but I've got a fucking assignment." He shrugged, perching on the side of the bed as he pulled out another container. "Eat quick, don't think you can hide take out under your pillow."

"You'd be surprised," Harry remarked, but he did as Eggsy said, seeing the validity of his statement. He wasn't entirely able to stifle a moan at the food, it was easily the best thing he'd eaten since he woke up.

Eggsy had averted his eyes, silence a touch awkward, and Harry struggled for another topic. "Is that broccoli beef?"

"Yeah," Eggsy held the container out to him, a bite of meat halfway to his mouth. "Try it, it's fucking amazing."

There was a brief hesitation as he tried to stab a bite out of the container, winding up with two pieces, but he went along with it, nodding approvingly at the taste. "Decent," he provided and Eggsy rolled his eyes.

"How are the noodles? I ain't ever got them from there." 

Harry tilted his own container in response and Eggsy helped himself, laughing when a noodle slipped out of his chopsticks and onto the bed, pinching it with his fingers and slurping it into his mouth.

"Still like fried rice better," he declared. "But that ain't half bad."

"You're welcome to more," Harry murmured, and by the time Eggsy left they'd each swapped dishes often enough that he still had the lingering taste of broccoli in his mouth.

\---------

There was no sign of Eggsy the next afternoon, and he realized as he stared glumly at his dinner that he was waiting for the boy to appear. It was ridiculous really, that after four days of visits he expected his protégé to be at his side daily.

What was more ridiculous was when his door opened and he relaxed before even seeing the boy.

He looked exhausted, circles under his eyes, but he grinned regardless. "Sorry bruv, mission went on a bit longer than planned." A couple bags of crisps wound up on his tray before Eggsy sat down. "Don't know what kind you like, don't make no fucking difference to me. Thought you might be getting bored," he added, drawing out a deck of cards. "And apparently I've got to learn poker."

There was a look of distaste on his face at the idea, but Harry was thrilled by it as he selected a bag of salt and vinegar crisps. "It's a lovely game really. It will be good for working on masking your emotions, which is presumably why Merlin is requiring it. Shuffle and deal is each five," he directed. "We'll go over the basics before we talk about betting, tells, and the other fun bits."

\---------

Eggsy was a natural, and Harry felt more pride and pleasure in his success than was probably proper. The boy had gone and still Harry couldn't sleep, running over their conversation in his mind.

\---------

The door opened after lunch and Harry straightened. He had sat in the chair for once, growing tired of the bed, and when he heard the handle of the door he set aside his book, looking up expectantly.

It was a surprise when it was Merlin who entered, face impassive. Harry masked his disappointment easily, trying not to focus on the fact that he was feeling disappointment in the first place.

"Any news from your bionic eye research?" He asked pleasantly, not recalling any additional tests or evaluations scheduled for the afternoon.

“Currently they still only show light and dark as well as some shapes, but advancements are being made and I’ve assigned several tech personnel to looking further into the science.” Merlin’s clipboard was by his side, and he didn’t spare it a glance, which was fairly unusual as Harry had thought he’d heard it give a small chime.

“I’m not here about your eye Galahad.”

The magician was using his title, and Harry grew a bit more alert, knowing that Merlin had said it for a reason. Wanted his attention.

“I’m here because you’re meant to be in quarantine and you’ve been having a regular visitor.”

He tried not to cringe, not sure how Merlin knew but refusing to give anything away. “Have I?” he asked lightly, knowing that if Merlin actually knew it wouldn’t mislead him but hoping that perhaps the man was speculating. He should have been more attentive, he should have argued more about his confinement instead of being so relaxed.

“Don’t play games with me now. I couldn’t get ahold of Eggsy last night and when I used the tracker in his watch to find him imagine my shock that he was in the building. Don’t even try to tell me that he was somewhere else in this wing.”

Harry didn’t, there was no point to it. “Perhaps he stopped by last night, he had a question about an assignment.”

“And the day before? I looked up his records. He’s been here daily Harry. Daily. We’ve quarantined you for a reason.”

Harry knew that Merlin was honestly concerned but he couldn’t help but lean back a bit in his chair, smiling slightly. “But without looking at his tracker you wouldn’t have caught him? You told me I was staying here because of how secure this wing was, but he snuck in and out without a single red flag going up?”

Merlin didn’t look impressed, but he didn’t need to. Harry was. To pull off that feat was showing real skill. “Definitely worthy of a knighthood.”

“You’re impossible.” Merlin reached up to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, sighing. “We’re not here to discuss his talents. You’re clearly smitten with the lad, but luckily for you he does have talent.”

Smitten? The word pierced through him, and his first instinct was to deny it. "Impressed by his skills? Yes. But I don't know if that qualifies as smitten Merlin."

"Don't act so surprised. I should've known when you weren't throwing a fit and demanding to be released that something was up. Finding out Eggsy was involved just made everything click into place." He clasped Harry's shoulder and Harry sat there, somewhat stunned.

That alone should not have given so much away that Merlin could discover the budding feelings that he kept quashing down. Feelings he barely admitted to himself.

He was troubled, and his face showed it. "How did you know? Really?"

Merlin squeezed his shoulder gently. "It's not just you, Harry. You’re not the one that Eggsy harasses night and day for updates."

If anything Merlin’s words only troubled him more, the magician confirming the worst of his fears. "What you suspect doesn't leave this room," he said quietly, but his voice was strong. Demanding to be obeyed.

The look Merlin gave him was concerned and slightly confused. "Listen Harry, there is nothing to keep two agents or two Kingman employees from fraternizing. I only brought this up because you are supposed to be resting. In quarantine."

Harry shook his head. "If that is your concern then you can speak to him about ceasing his visits."

Merlin sighed. "I'll allow them, but on a schedule only. Lord knows it's worth it not to hear your bitching."

\---------

Eggsy came in the next day, beaming. "Thought I was fucking dead yesterday. Ain't seen Merlin that mad before." 

"It is a rather scary sight," Harry acknowledged.

"I was going to bring in something but they confiscated it." Eggsy seemed actually sorry about that, but not so much that he was distressed. “Only get to stay thirty fucking minutes too.”

"I appreciate the break regardless, " he said with a small smile, keeping it reserved, and then he dropped the conversation.

Eggsy shifted from foot to foot, feeling the effects of his silence but obviously not sure how to respond or what else to say. The quiet was painful, and Harry longed to break it, to ask him how his day was and then to follow up with a story of some scrape he'd extracted himself from that would cause Eggsy's laughter to fill the room.

He didn't say anything.

"So uh, Merlin said they was ready to knight me. I asked him to wait till you could be there. I know it's just a fucking toast but as the one that proposed me I figured you should be there."

Harry nodded, pushing away the feelings of elation that Eggsy had put something like that off simply for him, keeping his voice carefully neutral instead. 

Eggsy wound up leaving a few minutes early and Harry tried to remind himself that this was a victory.

\--------

Over the next several things Harry’s mood only seemed to worsen. He was nice enough to Eggsy, a bit terse when he needed to be, and while the boy still came around like clockwork he could feel the distance growing between them by the day. At the nurses and doctors he started to become increasingly irritated. Demanding to see a psychiatrist to have his last psych eval didn’t seem to help him, but it didn’t stop him from trying, knowing that it had barely been over a week and there was still another to go.

He felt caged, and it was a feeling he was uncomfortable with.

At least now his food was a good deal better, upgraded from broths and jelly to hearty soups with actual substance and biscuits to go along with his tea (though it still tasted like shit, someone apparently had missed that crucial life lesson).

Merlin had already come down once to tell him he was being an idiot, to yell at him that Eggsy seemed miserable and if it affected his performance Merlin was holding him accountable, that he couldn’t just play with someone’s feelings, but Harry had done his best to ignore him, knowing that what he was doing was for the best.

This was the way things were, and the way they had to be.

Eggsy didn’t show up after lunch, and while Harry didn’t want to accept it he understood. He could read the signs as well as anyone else. Everything had gone to plan.

\---------

They were finally trusting him with the newspaper again and he was over halfway through it when his door opened. Despite there being no knock it was still a bit of a surprise when Eggsy entered, hands jammed into his pockets as he walked into the room.

“Sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday, I was working on something.”

“Quite alright,” Harry said, trying to keep the warmth out of his voice and fearing that he failed as Eggsy turned to face him, a frown on his face. “I been thinking,” he started, “and I can’t make no fucking sense of it. Then I remembered what you taught me the other night. About fucking tells. Made me try to think if you had one.”

Harry could hear his heart pounding in his ears, unable to tear his eyes off the young man as he kept talking.

“You’re good. You’re fucking good bruv. I ain’t got no idea if you got a tell. But when I was trying to think about it I realized something. You started acting funny after they found out I was coming. Only a dickhead would think it was because you wasn’t getting treats no more, so it had to be something else.”

He looked at Harry, staring him down. While the older agent had been in many stare downs in his career this one was rather more difficult when he expected, trying to meet Eggsy’s gaze cooly as the young man took another step closer to him. 

“I ain’t saying what happened, I don’t know, but I think you got a few things fucking figured out. Like how I felt or some shit like that. So if things are already shitty I might as well say it or something.”

Harry put his hands on his arm rests to push himself up, determined to shut this down before it got any farther, but Eggsy was there. He was half standing when Eggsy leaned in, and his brain stuttered, too late to do anything, a clumsy kiss pressed to his lips.

He sat back down heavily, mind going blank as he tried to piece together what had happened. What was happening.

“Eggsy,” he breathed, then seemed to get ahold of himself, clearing his throat and not quite able to meet the younger man’s gaze. “Eggsy, this can’t happen.”

“Why the fuck not? I tried looking yesterday and I ain’t found nothing that says two Kingman agents can’t be together.”

It explained where he had been, and Harry tried not be touched by the gesture. “That isn’t all there is to it Eggy,” he said, trying to get the other man to see reason. You’ve got the whole world at your feet, and you’re just starting to learn about Kingsman. You don’t need something holding you back when you get out there.”

“What the fuck are you on about?” Eggsy giving him a look as if he’d actually gone bonkers with the beam affecting him. “How the fuck would you be holding me back?”

Harry hesitated, not sure if he should hide the truth or not, and with a sigh simply decided to tell the boy how. “I’m too bloody old Eggsy.”

“Fuck that.” 

“No you listen here. You’re in your twenties. You’ve got an entire life ahead of you.”

“And I want you fucking in it you wanker.” 

“For what? A few years?” He had raised his voice, hand gesturing in front of him. “Shit, in twenty years you’ll still be in your prime and I’ll be hobbling around with a walker.”

“Oh give me a fucking break. You’ll still be kicking ass in twenty years, and probably still teaching me how to do it. 

“Eggsy,” Harry was trying to remain patient, “this can’t work.”

“Shut the fuck up Harry. Do you even listen to yourself? Fucking ridiculous.” Eggsy was obviously worked up now, pacing and gesturing with his hands, and Harry tried to ignore how beautiful he looked, how arguing and defying someone seemed to suit him.

“I don’t fucking care that you’re older than me--”

“Don’t make it sound so trivial, I’m older than you father.” Harry cut in. Eggsy glared at him, but Harry refused to gloss over the facts. 

“I still don’t fucking give a shit. I fucking love you, and I ain’t going to let you push me away because you want to be some fucking gentleman.”

“Now that isn’t--”

“Ain’t everything great about being a gentleman. Sometimes you got to be selfish, and that’s what I’m doing. Harry fucking Hart will you get over yourself and give me a chance?”

He was looking at him, eyes wide and earnest, and Harry had the refusal on the tip of his tongue. He got so far as opening his mouth, words sticking to the roof of his mouth, and he couldn’t. He couldn’t bear to tell Eggsy no, couldn’t bear the look he knew the young man would have.

Couldn’t deny himself any longer.

He closed his mouth, standing up again, and this time when he managed to speak his voice was quiet, hesitant.

“Are you sure? I could almost be your grandfather.”

“Fuck yeah I’m sure,” was the response, and a moment later the young man was pushed up against him, capturing his lips in a significantly less clumsy kiss than before.

**Author's Note:**

> Galahard here, come visit me on tumblr sometime or feel free to chat at me in the comments! Thank you for reading <3


End file.
